Kenyans welcome home triumphant athletes

Kenyans
welcome home triumphant athletes
Reuters
16 August 2001 – Nairobi - Kenyan athletes returned home to a hero’s welcome on
Thursday as thousands of supporters turned out to salute their achievements at
the World Athletics Championships in Canada.

Six of the team
arrived in the capital Nairobi early in the morning and received a traditional
warrior’s welcome of gourds of milk, before driving in to town on an open-top
bus.

Along the route,
Kenyans cheered and waved national flags to celebrate the team’s achievements.
The Kenya team finished third in the medals table with three golds, three
silvers and one bronze.

“This is the
greatest moment in my life,” Kamathi’s mother Angeline told Reuters. “I just
can’t believe this is my humble son sending everybody into a frenzy.”

Kamathi was also
proudly sporting a new grin after a Canadian dentist donated his services to the
athlete when he saw his gap-toothed smile after crossing the finish line.

“We were told
that Haile Gebrselassie had a deadly finishing kick, and for us to take care of
him we had to handle that aspect, and I am glad that it worked,” Kamathi said.

Around 100
people from his home village of Mathari, at the foot of Mount Kenya in Nyeri,
turned out to greet the policeman.

“It has been
like a wedding at his home since the neighbours learnt of his achievement,” said
Gitonga Mwangi from Mathari.

Marathon silver
medallist Simon Biwott was also among the athletes returning home. Officials
said the rest of the team had stayed in Europe to compete on the Grand Prix
circuit.

Kenya sent just
23 athletes to Edmonton and officials warned that stricter qualification
criteria meant that teams were likely to be even smaller in future.

“If people
thought we took a small team to Edmonton, they must prepare for tougher times
ahead because even the IOC has reduced the number of athletes for Olympics Games
from 3,500 to 2,000,” said Kenya Amateur Athletic Association chief Isaiah
Kiplagat.

“We have done
better than we anticipated with the small team in Edmonton,” he said. “We will
take a smaller team in future events.”